Borrowing a pan for cooking | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Borrowing a pan for cooking to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Est-ce que je peux emprunter ta grande poêle aujourd'hui ?

ess-kuh zhuh puh ahn-pruhn-TAY tah grahnd pwal oh-zhoor-DWEE Can I borrow your large pan today?

Oui, mais fais attention au manche, car il devient chaud.

wee, meh feh ah-tahn-SYON oh mahNsh, kar eel duh-VYEN sho You can, but watch the handle because it gets hot.

Est-ce que ça ira sur cette cuisinière ?

ess-kuh sah ee-RAH syr set kwee-zee-NYEHR Will it be all right on this stove?

Ça devrait aller si tu gardes le feu doux.

sah duh-VREH ah-LAY see tyoo gard luh fuh doo It should be fine if you keep the heat low.

Je la laverai juste après le dîner.

zhuh lah lah-vruh-AY zhoost ah-PRAY luh dee-NAY I will wash it right after dinner.

Sèche-la bien avant de me la rapporter, s'il te plaît.

sehk-lah byehn ah-VAHN duh muh lah rah-por-TAY, seel tuh PLAY Please dry it well before bringing it back to me.

Quand voudrais-tu que je te la rende ?

kahn voo-DRAY-tyoo kuh zhuh tuh lah rahnd When would you like it back?

Après le dîner, ça me va.

ah-PRAY luh dee-NAY, sah muh VAH After dinner is fine.

Je n'en aurai pas besoin avant plus tard cette semaine.

zhuh nahn oh-RAY pah buh-ZWAN ah-VAHN ploo TAR set suh-MEN I will not need it again until later this week.

Word by Word

Est-ce que Est-ce que introduces the yes-or-no question Est-ce que je peux emprunter ta grande poêle aujourd'hui ?. In this fixed opener, Est contributes the form meaning is, ce refers to this or it, and que links the question structure; learn the whole sequence together. It is useful when asking a direct yes-or-no question.

je je means I and is the subject in je peux emprunter. It normally comes before the verb when the speaker states their own action or ability. Here it is used to ask permission to borrow the pan.

peux peux means can in je peux emprunter, expressing ability or permission. It is followed by the infinitive emprunter. A useful pattern is je peux plus an infinitive when asking whether the speaker may or can do something.

emprunter emprunter means borrow in je peux emprunter ta grande poêle aujourd'hui. It is an infinitive after peux and takes the borrowed object ta grande poêle. Use it when temporarily taking something from another person with the intention of returning it.

ta ta means your here and identifies the pan as belonging to the person addressed. It comes before the feminine noun poêle in ta grande poêle. A reusable pattern is ta plus a feminine singular noun when addressing one person informally.

grande grande means large in ta grande poêle and describes the size of the pan. Its form agrees with the feminine noun poêle. Use an adjective such as grande directly with a noun when describing an object.

poêle poêle means pan in ta grande poêle and is the object being borrowed, used, washed, and returned. Here the surrounding cooking context makes the intended object clear. Use it when referring to this kind of cooking pan.

aujourd'hui aujourd'hui means today and sets the time for borrowing the pan in emprunter ta grande poêle aujourd'hui. It is a time expression placed at the end of the request here. Use it when arranging something for the current day.

Oui Oui means yes and accepts the request in Oui, mais fais attention au manche. It answers the preceding question before adding a warning. Use it to agree or confirm before giving further information.

mais mais means but and introduces a qualification after the permission in Oui, mais fais attention au manche. It connects the positive answer with the warning that follows. Use mais before a clause that limits or contrasts with what was just said.

fais attention fais attention means be careful or watch out in fais attention au manche. The expression is used as a whole: fais is the command form meaning do, and attention names the care being called for. In this dialogue it is followed by au manche; use it to warn someone about a possible danger.

au au means to the or at the in fais attention au manche. It is the contraction of à and le, and it connects attention with the handle being mentioned. A useful pattern is fais attention au plus a masculine singular noun.

manche manche means handle in au manche and identifies the part that may become hot. It is the object of the warning about safe use of the pan. Use it when referring to a handle in a context where an object has one.

car car means because and introduces the reason for the warning in car, il devient chaud. It links the instruction to the explanation that the handle gets hot. Use car before a clause giving a reason.

il il means it here and refers to the handle in il devient chaud. It is the subject of the statement about the handle’s changing temperature. Use it as the subject when referring back to this masculine noun.

devient devient means becomes or gets in il devient chaud, describing a change into a hot state. The verb is followed here by the adjective chaud. A reusable pattern is a subject plus devient plus an adjective to describe a change of state.

chaud chaud means hot in il devient chaud and describes the resulting state of the handle. It agrees with the masculine noun referred to by il. Use it after a verb such as devient when warning that something reaches a hot state.

ça ça means it or that. In ça ira, it refers generally to the pan and its use on the stove; in ça me va, it refers to the proposed return time and means that arrangement works for me. Use ça as a general subject when referring to a situation, object, or proposal.

ira ira means will be all right in ça ira sur cette cuisinière. Although it comes from aller, this expression checks whether something will work or be suitable, rather than describing physical movement. Use ça ira to ask or say whether a situation will be okay.

sur sur means on in sur cette cuisinière and indicates the stove on which the pan will be used. It is followed by the noun naming the surface or place. Use sur when describing an object’s position on a surface.

cette cette means this in cette cuisinière and points to the particular stove being discussed. It comes before the feminine noun cuisinière. Use cette plus a feminine singular noun to identify one specific thing nearby or already under discussion.

cuisinière cuisinière means stove in cette cuisinière and names the cooking appliance being checked. The phrase sur cette cuisinière identifies where the pan will be placed. Use it when referring to a stove in a cooking context.

devrait devrait means should in Ça devrait aller, expressing a cautious expectation that the pan will be fine. It is part of the expression ça devrait aller. Use this expression when giving a qualified assurance rather than an absolute guarantee.

aller aller means be fine in ça devrait aller, not physical movement. It follows devrait as an infinitive and completes the expression meaning that things should be okay. Use ça devrait aller to reassure someone when the result is expected to be satisfactory.

si si means if and introduces the condition si tu gardes le feu doux. It connects the expected result with the action required for it. Use si before a clause stating a condition.

tu tu means you for one person addressed informally and is the subject in tu gardes le feu doux. It is used here between familiar people sharing a kitchen. Use tu before the verb when speaking informally to one person.

gardes gardes means keep in tu gardes le feu doux, referring to maintaining the cooking heat at a low level. It takes le feu as its object and doux describes the desired state. A reusable pattern is tu gardes plus an object plus an adjective describing the maintained state.

le le means the in le feu doux and identifies the particular cooking heat being discussed. It comes before the masculine noun feu. Use le before a masculine singular noun when referring to a specific thing.

feu feu means heat in le feu doux in this cooking context. The expression describes keeping the heat low while using the pan. Use feu with a cooking adjective when discussing the level of heat.

doux doux means low in le feu doux and describes the desired heat level. Its form agrees with the masculine noun feu. Use feu doux when instructing someone to cook with low heat.

la la means it here and refers to the feminine noun poêle in Je la laverai and Sèche-la bien. It is a direct object pronoun for the pan, not a person. Use la with a verb when replacing this feminine object.

laverai laverai means will wash in Je la laverai juste après le dîner. The pronoun la comes before the verb and refers to the pan being washed. Use this pattern when stating that the speaker will wash a feminine object at a later time.

juste juste means right or immediately in juste après le dîner, emphasizing that the washing will happen directly after dinner. It modifies the time expression après le dîner. Use juste après plus an event when describing something that happens immediately afterward.

après après means after in juste après le dîner and Après le dîner, ça me va. It establishes the time that follows dinner. Use après plus an event to say when something happens later than that event.

dîner dîner means dinner in le dîner and names the meal used as the time reference. In après le dîner, it follows the article le. Use it when arranging an action in relation to the evening meal.

Sèche Sèche means dry in Sèche-la bien and gives a direct instruction to dry the pan. It is the command form used with the object pronoun la attached by a hyphen. Use Sèche-la when telling one person to dry a feminine object.

bien bien means well or thoroughly in Sèche-la bien and describes how the pan should be dried. It follows the verb and its object pronoun. Use a verb plus bien to request that an action be done properly or thoroughly.

avant avant means before in avant de me la rapporter and sets a required earlier time. Here it is followed by de and an infinitive. Use avant de plus an infinitive when one action must happen before another.

de de forms the before-an-infinitive construction in avant de me la rapporter. It links avant to the action of bringing the pan back. Use avant de plus an infinitive to state what must happen before another action.

me me means to me in me la rapporter and me la rende, identifying the person who should receive the pan back. It appears with the object pronoun la before the verb or infinitive. Use me when the speaker is the recipient of an action.

rapporter rapporter means bring back or return in de me la rapporter. The expression includes me as the recipient and la as the pan being returned. Use rapporter when bringing an object back to the person it belongs to.

s'il te plaît s'il te plaît means please and politely softens the request Sèche-la bien avant de me la rapporter. The expression is used as a whole; s'il combines si and il, te refers to the person addressed, and plaît contributes the idea of pleasing. Use it when making a polite request to one person addressed informally.

Quand Quand means when and asks for the time in Quand voudrais-tu que je te la rende ?. It introduces the question about the desired return time. Use quand when asking when an action should happen.

voudrais voudrais means would like in voudrais-tu and makes the question polite. It is followed by tu in the question and by que je te la rende for the requested action. Use voudrais-tu to ask one person politely what they want or prefer.

que que introduces the requested action in voudrais-tu que je te la rende ?. It links the polite question to the clause describing the return. Use voudrais-tu que plus a clause when asking what action someone would like another person to take.

rende rende means return or give back in que je te la rende, referring to returning the pan to the other person. It appears in the action clause after voudrais-tu que. Use it when describing the act of giving an object back to its owner.

va va means is fine or works in ça me va. Here the expression accepts Après le dîner as a suitable return time. Use ça me va when agreeing that a proposed arrangement is acceptable to the speaker.

n'en n'en helps express not needing it in Je n'en aurai pas besoin, where en refers to the pan and pas completes the negation. En represents the thing associated with the expression for having need of something. A reusable pattern is avoir besoin de plus a thing, with en replacing that thing when it is already understood.

aurai aurai means will have in Je n'en aurai pas besoin. Together with besoin, it forms the future expression for needing something, and the negation is completed by n'en and pas. Use it when saying that the speaker will have or lack a need in the future.

pas pas means not and completes the negation in Je n'en aurai pas besoin. The negation surrounds the verb phrase, with n' attached to en before aurai and pas after the verb. Use pas as part of ne...pas to negate a statement.

besoin besoin means need in Je n'en aurai pas besoin. Its meaning here comes from the expression avoir besoin de, with en standing for the pan that is not needed. A reusable pattern is avoir besoin de plus a thing when saying that someone needs something.

plus plus means later in plus tard cette semaine, not more. Together with tard, it places the need at a later point in the week. Use plus tard to refer to a time after the present moment.

tard tard means late or later in plus tard and helps place the time after the current point. In this dialogue, plus tard refers to a later time during the week. Use plus tard when postponing something or referring to a later time.

semaine semaine means week in plus tard cette semaine and identifies the time period in which the pan will next be needed. The phrase cette semaine refers to the current week. Use semaine when describing availability or plans across a seven-day period.

Grammar Points

faire attention à + le → faire attention au

Fais attention au manche.

feh ah-tahn-SYON oh mahNsh

Be careful with the handle.

À contracts with le to form au. The contraction is required before a masculine singular noun.

ça me va

Ça me va.

sah muh VAH

That works for me.

This fixed expression literally means “that suits me.” The indirect object pronoun me identifies the person for whom it works.

French Vocabulary

aller verb

ah-LAY to be all right; to go ira

Est-ce que ça ira sur cette cuisinière ?

aujourd'hui adv

oh-zhoor-DWEE today

aujourd'hui

chaud adj

sho hot

il devient chaud

cuisinière noun

kwee-zee-NYEHR stove

sur cette cuisinière

devenir verb

duh-vuh-NEER to become; to get devient

il devient chaud

emprunter verb

ahn-pruhn-TAY to borrow

Est-ce que je peux emprunter ta grande poêle aujourd'hui ?

faire attention à phrase

fehr ah-tahn-SYON ah to watch out for; to be careful with fais attention au

fais attention au manche

feu noun

fuh heat; burner

le feu doux

garder verb

gar-DAY to keep gardes

si tu gardes le feu doux

grand adj

grahn large; big grande

ta grande poêle

manche noun

mahNsh handle

au manche

poêle noun

pwal pan

ta grande poêle

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

After dinner is fine.

Show Answer

Après le dîner, ça me va.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to become; to get

Show Answer

devient

stove

Show Answer

cuisinière

hot

Show Answer

chaud

to borrow

Show Answer

emprunter